The Media's Wish For Headlines From "Joker"


Image result for joker
Related image Over this past weekend, one of the most anticipated movies of the year, Joker, arrived in theaters.  Met with a staggeringly good reception by its audiences, as it is currently sitting at a 9/10 and 90% on IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes respectively, as well as early calls for leading star Joaquin Phoenix to receive an Oscar for his work, it seems like Joker should be the media's favorite thing to talk about for a few weeks.  Now, while it is seemingly one of the main points the media has been talking about, it has not been for the reason many would assume.  While there are some articles analyzing the movie and the work    the cast and crew put into it, the majority of the articles put out on the movie are ones that speak of the danger it poses to society.  How a movie in and of itself poses a threat to society, I haven't the slightest clue, but the media seems to think it knows something that the audience who went to see the movie doesn't.  In mine, and every other movie-goer that I've heard a review from, Joker is a movie about two things: a fictional comic book character, and the real problem of mental illness in today's society.  These are two great things to talk about, and two things that the media should be talking about.  But, instead, they drum up ideas of how Joker will inspire mass shootings, or what the movie "accidentally says about whiteness," as Lawrence Ware decided to put it in his article from The New York Times.  Constant fear mongering from the media has been unrelenting for the past 2-3 weeks, and it is blatantly obvious for anyone who reads any of the articles on the subject.  Mainstream news companies like the BBC and CNN have even gone so far as to tout out articles about the families of the Aurora Massacre, a shooting that took place during a showing of The Dark Knight Rises in which 12 people were killed, and have them say how they don't like Joker.  These two movies are unrelated, the shooter was not and never was "inspired" by the character of the Joker to kill these people (although many news outlets have reported he was), and the idea that watching a movie will make someone go out and shoot up a movie theatre is as absurd as the idea that video games turn children into terrorists.  In terms of violence, Joker is nowhere near the level of violence in other blockbuster movies.  In terms of it's message, it is pleading for a discussion about mental health and how we can help those who suffer with neglect in our society; not some secret message about white supremacy, especially from a character who's love interest is an African American single mother.  In terms of its reception, the audience loves it and has gone forward with discussions on what the movie is trying to communicate.  The Media, is begging for negative press to report on, and weather that press holds any relativity to what the movie is saying seems irrelevant to them.  The ideals of the Joker in the movie are twisted, sick, and disturbing.  But, for whatever reason, the media is hoping some of its audience will have the same morals.  


Links to Articles:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/09/movies/joker-movie-controversy.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-49816205                  

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